Venezuela Targets Mercenaries

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The upcoming guns-and-mayhem-for-hire game is accused of being propaganda against the South American country.

By Kathleen Sanders

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, the yet-to-be released shooting-and-exploding game in development at Pandemic Studios, is under attack by Venezuelan lawmakers as being what they decry as instruction on how to violently overthrow Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

According to Associated Press reports supporters of President Chavez, a vocal and unreserved challenger of American policy, are up in arms over the game's overarching mission objective simulating a military invasion of the oil-rich South American nation. According to Pandemic's website, the premise of Mercenaries 2 involves "a power-hungry tyrant [that] messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a war zone."

Will the game lead to aggression? Chavez supporters believe it's possible.

Supporter of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Lawmaker Gabriela Ramirez said, "[Mercenaries 2] sends a message to Americans: You have a danger next door, here in Latin America, and action must be taken," It's a justification for an imperialist aggression."

Self-proclaimed revolutionary Chavez has had a vocal beef with the United States. Chavez accused the White House of planning to topple him to gain access to his nation's vast oil reserves. President Bush said this week he was concerned about the erosion of democracy in Venezuela.

Last week Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, staged a mock invasion complete with naval landing craft and camouflaged tanks to train military troops and communities to defend against any potential attack.

- President Hugo ChavezIt is important to note that President Chavez isn't in the game. However, those loyal to him still believe the title's goal is to stain his reputation and Venezuela's by portraying it as an unstable, war-torn battle zone on the brink of revolution.

"I think the US government knows how to prepare campaigns of psychological terror so they can make things happen later," commented Venezuelan congressman Ismael Garcia.

"This could be a point of departure," lawmaker Luis Tascon said on Thursday. "The United States has an impressive media machine. In that machinery the gringos are always the heroes and their adversaries are always the villains."

Attempts to contact Pandemic Studios for comment were not returned at this time. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is scheduled for release on Sony's next-gen PlayStation 3 system sometime next year.